The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) recovered a prime Government plot valued at about Sh30 million which had been illegally and corruptly excised from public land adjacent to State House, Mombasa.
The accused was one Edward Mwangi Irungu, then a District Officer in Mombasa who is said to have colluded with the then Commissioner of Lands Wilson Gachanja.
In a judgement delivered on December 11, 2024, Justice Nelly Matheka of the Mombasa Environment and Land Court nullified all the transactions leading to the grabbing of the land and ordered that the property reverts to the Government.
The Land Parcel, Mombasa/Block XXVI/1010 measuring 0.0492 hectares, had previously been set aside for Government Staff, whereon the Deputy Provincial Commissioner’s official residence was erected.
EACC investigations established that after illegally and corruptly acquiring the public land, the District Officer sold it to Minalove Hotel & Restaurant Limited, which used the title to secure a loan facility at Equity Bank.
Upon completion of investigations, the Commission instituted a recovery suit in 2015, suing Edward Mwangi Irungu, Minalove Hotel & Restaurant Limited, Equity Bank and Wilson Gachanja- former Commissioner of Lands.
In her judgment, Justice Matheka upheld the EACC submissions that having been set aside for public use, the land was not available for allocation to Irungu or any other person, and thus, all transactions leading to its transfer were illegal, invalid, null and void.
Consequently, Justice Matheka issued Orders and Declarations that the Lease registered in favour of the defendant was improperly procured and the same is hereby cancelled.
“Having no title, the 1st defendant did not pass a good title to the 2nd defendant, and the transfer of land dated 2nd July 2013 is hereby cancelled. Having no title, the 2nd defendant could not have properly charged the property, and the charge registered under the title on 18th July 2013 is hereby cancelled.”
She ordered hat the register of the land parcel Mombasa/Block XXVI/1010 be rectified to remove the entries in favour of the 2nd defendant and the charge in favour of the 3rd defendant and the title to revert to the Government of Kenya.
“A permanent order of injunction is hereby issued to restrain the 2nd defendant, whether by themselves or through their agents, servants or assigns, from alienating, transferring, charging, leasing, sub-dividing, disposing of, wasting, entering or remaining upon, or undertaking any construction or development of any nature thereon, land reference number Mombasa/Block XXVI/1010 or from howsoever dealing with the said property, other than by way of surrender to the Government of Kenya.”
She also gave general damages of Sh5 million against the 1st and 2nd defendants for wrongful interference with public land in an irregular, illegal and fraudulent manner.
The costs of the suit was also awarded to EACC.
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